The Price of Deception
by Casey 'Flame' Wolfe
Summary: When Brian blows his cover, Dom forces him to leave. In doing so, he had no idea what he would be thrusting the Buster into. Slash. Dom/Brian


**Title: **The Price of Deception  
**For: **MsWriter07  
**Characters/pairings: **Dom/Brian  
**Warning: **Mentions of rape (Off-screen)  
**Author's Notes: **This is for the Cannonball Run Fic Fest on the Quarter Mile LJ group. Thanks to Hellsbells for looking this over.

* * *

When Mia asked him to take her on a date, he should have declined. There was that vindictive part in his brain though that wanted to set the screws to Vince, get payback for all the shit he'd been giving him from the moment he showed up. So Brian nodded, agreeing to take her.

Looking up and catching Vince's expression though, he could have punched himself. Vince looked completely decimated. He tried to open his mouth, but the other man stalked out, slamming the kitchen door with his elbow.

Brian sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. "Way to be a fucking ass," he grumbled. "Great going, O'Connor." He immediately froze, realizing he had spoken out loud. Slowly, he looked up at Mia, who was now gazing at him questioningly.

"I… I have to go," was all he managed lamely.

"Brian, wait!" Mia yelled.

Dom had come to the kitchen door, a puzzled look on his face. "What the hell is Vince's problem?" He stopped when he saw Brian's paled face, and the confusion on Mia's. "What's goin' on?"

Brian had already been backing away. As soon as he hit the door, he flew through it like he was on fire. He was speed walking to his truck on the street, hearing the back door slamming shut again. "Brian!" It was Dom. That fact alone sent a chill down his spine. "_Brian!_"

The demanding tone had him stopping. Why was he stopping? He couldn't do this. His body was turning around to face the incoming man without consent.

Dom stopped a few feet from him, gazing at him with a look of confusion. "What the fuck's going on?" he asked. It wasn't said in anger, just genuine concern. That was more than Brian could take, and he fell against the side of his truck.

Mia was coming out now, calling as she came down the drive. "What the hell did you mean in there Brian?" She stopped out of reach of them both, crossing her arms. "You said O'Connor. What gives?"

Brian looked at his feet. "That's my real name, alright?"

Dom took a step forward and Brian bristled. "What do you mean your real name?" he demanded.

"Just what I said." Somehow he managed to look Dom in the eye. "My name's not Spilner, its O'Connor."

After a few moments, Dom asked, "Why lie? You in trouble or somethin'?"

Brian shook his head, not helping the reply that fell from his lips. "Not yet at least." He sighed heavily, trying to inch his way along the truck so he could get to the driver's side. "Look, I have to go."

Dom's arm flew out, hitting the truck beside him to block his escape. "Not until I find out what the hell's going on." Again, the lack of anger surprised Brian, though he knew if he told the man the truth, there would be more than just anger coming off of him.

"I can't."

"Bullshit!"

Brian could feel Dom hovering right next to him now, his presence completely overpowering him. It was the only explanation he had for what slipped quietly off his tongue. "I'm a cop." He steeled himself for the inevitable beating. He deserved nothing less. But, it never came.

Instead, he felt Dom backing away from him a bit, and he somehow managed to look up and meet his deep brown eyes. That had been a mistake. It would have been better if Dom had just beat him, as Brian couldn't take that mournful look in his eyes. "A cop?" he repeated.

It was then Brian noticed Vince stalking over to them. Apparently he hadn't been pissed off enough to leave outright, and the blonde had completely missed him lurking on the porch. He was ready to take a swing at him, even if Dominic wasn't. "You fucking narc!" he spat, going to lunge for him.

Dom had his arm out to stop him though. "Let it go, Vince," he spoke quietly, but there was an order behind it.

"Why should I?! He's a fucking _cop_! He lied to us, Dom!"

Brian's frown deepened. "I'm sorry," he managed weakly, feeling nothing but failure. Not only was his undercover assignment completely up in flames, he had disappointed Dom. The latter was the one that hurt more, which was unnerving to him.

Vince's eyes were on him, a burning ice. "You're _sorry_?!" he bellowed, trying once more to come towards him, but Dom wasn't allowing it. His accusing gaze turned on his best friend then. "Are you gonna do somethin' about him, or what?"

"Dom," Mia spoke up softly, taking a few steps forward.

"Go inside, Mia," Dom replied, a simmering calm. When she tried to protest, he snapped at her, "Now!" She huffed in frustration, knowing she couldn't go against her brother- no one could- and stamped off into the house.

Dom's dark gaze slowly turned to Brian, who shifted nervously from foot to foot. After a tense standoff he finally spoke up, voice low and graveled. "Get out of here." Brian's heart fell, he pushed off the truck, going to open his mouth, but Dom cut him off. "I said go!" he snapped. "I don't wanna see you around here again!"

He may as well have just hit him, he would have felt better. As it was, Brian felt his knees get weak. He didn't want to leave. In the short time he'd spent with them, they had become like family to him- something he'd never had. Damn, if Mia hadn't been right- Dom owned him, and he couldn't imagine not having them around.

Brian wanted to plead his case, hell he was ready to beg even. The look he was getting stopped him though. He was done. It was all over. So, he just nodded slightly, walking around his truck to get in. Something made him pause however, and he looked across the hood to the pair of men.

"I don't wanna believe that it's you guys," he spoke, surprised how evenly his voice was coming out. "Just know that the truckers are arming themselves now."

Brian had looked away before even finishing, not wanting to see their reactions. If it _was _the team, he didn't want to know about it. His heart wouldn't be able to take any more pain than it already had that night. Instead, he got into the truck, firing it up and driving away into the night.

He never looked back.

* * *

Dom hadn't really believed it when Leon told him. When he had turned Brian out two months previous, he had told the team not to say a word about what happened to anyone else. As far as anyone in the scene knew, Brian Spilner had simply left. That was, until Hector and his crew claimed to have seen him working a street corner on a shady side of town.

The Mazda was idling in the shadows of a building, pulled to the side of the road where he could see the corner. He could barely believe the man in front of him was the same Buster he used to spend all those days with in the garage, all those nights at home with the team. He had been a part of their family. But like this…?

His stonewash jeans looked like they'd been sewed on him, with frayed rips to show skin- including a few more suggestive places, like on his hip or near his crotch. The shirt he was wearing didn't leave anything to the imagination. It was a mesh tank, much like Vince wore. But his best friend would have _never _worn it quite like that.

He watched the blonde leaning down into the window of the car that pulled up, his rear end swaying ever so suggestively. Dom could imagine the discussion and sucked in a breath when Brian got into the car and it drove off. He had half a mind to follow, and the other half wanted to wait on his return so he could drag the man kicking and screaming away.

Thankfully, Dom wasn't so reckless. He knew there was a chance of it all being a set up, and if that was the case, then it meant Brian was being watched. It would be foolish to do anything right there. So instead, he turned the Mazda around, heading off towards a place he figured the blonde was bound to show up.

Hours later, parked across the street from the local police station, Dom observed Brian coming out. He was changed now, into normal baggy jeans, and a zipped hoodie. As he walked, he pulled the hood up. It wasn't cold enough for such extremes, and the growl escaped Dom's throat before he could put anymore thought into it.

His eyes narrowed as he watched a few officers pass him, jeering at him. Brian, to his credit, kept his cool and just continued walking. But whereas the Snowman he knew would have sauntered off, Brian had his shoulders hunched and his eyes trained to the ground like a whipped puppy.

As he started walking down the sidewalk, Dom flipped the headlights on and swung the car around. "Yo, O'Connor," he called, drawing the other's attention. Brian's neck should have snapped as quickly as his head turned to him. He froze, looking like a deer in the headlights. Dom stayed calm, motioning for him. "Come on. Get in."

Brian hesitated, shifting from foot to foot. He looked back over his shoulder towards the precinct, most likely debating on the sanity of doing what he was told. Apparently though, he was still the same risk-taker, as he nodded curtly, walking around to the passenger seat and getting in.

Giving him no time to change his mind, Dom sped off, hitting the highway. There was a diner out on the beach he knew that was open for stragglers like them. Brian didn't open his mouth the whole drive, just stared out the window. Dom kept glancing his way, trying to feel him out, but the Snowman was keeping things even closer to his chest than before.

The blonde followed him inside wordlessly, settling gingerly into the booth seat across from him. Dom didn't say a word until they'd gotten served their coffee and their orders taken. Once the waitress was gone though, he leaned forward on the table, looking at him closely.

He watched as Brian shifted uneasily under his gaze, looking out the window. "Brian," he said softly. "Look at me."

"Can't," he muttered.

"And why's that?" Dom inquired, trying to reach out to him.

Brian shed away, sinking himself into the cushions of the booth. "Don't touch me." It was said quietly, his voice sounding strained.

He furrowed his brows. "Bri… what's wrong?"

"Just. Don't, Dom." He was shaking his head, bowing it so that the hood- which was still pulled up- was shadowing his face. They sat quietly till their food came, and then Brian finally spoke on his own. "Why were you at the station tonight?"

Dom sighed. "I wasn't _just _there." Brian's eyes snapped up to meet his, looking pained. He bit his lip, looking back down. "What the fuck do they have you doing, Brian?"

It was then he saw the blonde's shoulders starting to shake. _Ah, fuck. Good going, Dom. _He reached out, grabbing Brian's wrist before he was able to pull away. "I can't do this here," Brian blurted, and he could hear that he had started to cry.

"Alright, Bri," he soothed. "Alright." He placed some bills down on the table, getting up and offering a hand to the other man. He allowed Dom to steer him out, setting Brian up against the side of the Mazda when they got across the parking lot.

Dom pulled the hood down, able to see the tears streaking his face. His _bruised_ face. His hand brushed away the tears, looking at the fading bruises and cut lip. "This is too much, Bri," he spoke, voice coming out low and graveled.

"They didn't give me much of a choice," Brian spat. "When I blew my cover, it was the only thing they would give me."

"So why do it?!" Dom did growl that time, angered beyond belief that Brian would allow himself to be used like this.

Brian looked up from the ground, meeting his gaze. His eyes had always been bright pools, and now they were dull, broken. "Cause where else am I supposed to go?"

Dom felt like he'd been punched in the gut. Brian didn't say it, because he was better than that, but Dom knew. This was all his fault. He'd turned the blonde away, thrown him from his life, from the team's lives. Brian hadn't lied to them about his past at all it seemed, at least when it came to the part about not having a family of his own.

Brian wasn't done though. "They said I was a fuck up! That the only UC work I was capable of was something that didn't involve thinking so much! Said since I had a pretty face and ass that they knew just where to put me!"

He growled in frustration, balling his fists. "Y'know the _best _part? The guys in Vice who are supposed to be backin' me up? They enjoy watching…" he spat, seething. "It's kind of a 50-50 whether or not they actually come in on my signal, or whether they just watch me get raped!"

Dom went to open his mouth, but clearly Brian wasn't through ranting. It had been building inside of him for so long, that it all was just rushing out. "And don't get me started on how very _helpful_ internal affairs has been about disciplining them!"

He threaded his fingers into his hair, palms resting on his forehead. "Gawd, damnit," he whimpered, starting to cry again. "I can't do this anymore… I _can't._"

"You don't have to, Bri," Dom assured, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him close. "You're coming home."

He felt Brian stiffen, allowing him to pull back just enough to look into Dom's eyes. "What do you-?"

"Brian." He rested his hand against his cheek, a soft smile spreading on his face as he spoke sincerely. "I said you're coming home."

The man smiled, relief rushing across his face. He latched tightly onto Dom, head falling into the crook of his neck. "Thank you, Dom," he whispered.

"Don't thank me," he replied solemnly. "I had no right to make you leave in the first place." He placed a kiss on his cheek in a comforting gesture without really thinking about it.

As he started to apologize though, Brian shifted, pressing his lips against Dom's. It was brief, but filled with months of pent up feelings behind it. Brian bit his lower lip, taking his turn in an attempt to apologize. However, Dom leaned back in to return the gesture, lingering a bit more.

When he pulled back, Brian was smiling softly before he looked away. "I… I need to take this slow, alright?"

Dom took his chin gently, moving his head so that he could see into Brian's ocean eyes that held a spark of its old light behind it now.

"Whatever you need, Bri," he replied, knowing full well the horrible things he'd been through. He would wait as long as the blonde needed, and would be there every step of the way as he healed. "Come on," he added, smiling. "Let's go home."

* * *

**A/N: The prompt was as follows: _While Brian is asking Mia on their "date,'" something happens and his cover is blown early. Vince convinces Dom to turn him out and Brian ends up working the street corners (could be knocked to vice as punishment) and finally Dom comes to his senses and saves Brian. Writer's choice if Brian stays a police officer or quits._**

**EDIT: I've written a one-shot sequel to this, "The Cost of Love."  
**


End file.
